1. Technical Field
This invention relates to hand-held asset tracking readers and, more particularly, to a hand-held, dual-mode reader having a supplemental switch manually activatable by a user and logic for taking a first action when the supplemental switch is not activated and for taking a second action when the supplemental switch is activated.
2. Background Information
In manufacturing, transportation, and other industries, it is frequently desirable to keep track of and/or be able to identify or obtain information from assets. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cassetsxe2x80x9d is intended to be understood to include products, packages, and other inanimate objects, as well as individual personnel or nonhuman living individuals. There are various ways in which assets are tracked and/or identified. Bar codes are perhaps the most widely known device for tracking and identifying assets. Bar codes may be of the one-dimensional type commonly seen on consumer products or, more recently, of a two-dimensional type. Other identifying devices include passive and active RF (radio frequency) ID (identification) tags and smart cards. Smart cards may be of the type, for example, that includes an input/output, a microprocessor, and a memory, and that will not allow information to be read without authorization. Authorization may be provided via a microprocessor in the reading device, such as by the user inputting a personal identification number.
Known reading devices for reading bar codes, RF ID tags, or smart cards are limited to reading one type of identifier and are generally very restricted in their modes of operation. Thus, in order to have the capacity to read various types of identifiers, an inventory of a number of different types of readers is required. This problem of the need to have available a number of different readers is increasing in severity as the use of a plurality of types of identifiers in single installations increases. For example, labels on packages or identification badges for personnel may include both a bar code and an RF ID tag.
As an example of a known reading device, a typical prior art two-dimensional bar code reader is depicted in simplified form in FIG. 1 where it is generally indicated as 10. The bar code reader 10 has a hand-held case 12 of so-called xe2x80x9cpistol-gripxe2x80x9d shape containing the components required to scan a two-dimensional bar code. There is a lens system 14 which focuses a field of view (not shown) containing a bar code on a charge coupled device (CCD) 16. The CCD is, of course, an element that is commonly used in video cameras. The CCD constantly outputs a signal on line 18 containing the two-dimensional pixel data of what is being xe2x80x9cseenxe2x80x9d by the lens system 14. In the bar code reader 10, the output line 18 is input to the logic 20. There is also a trigger switch 22 which is operated by manually depressing the trigger button 24. The trigger switch 22 is also connected to the logic 20 by line 26. The signal out of the bar code reader 10 appears on line 28 from the logic 20. This is, of course, a greatly simplified depiction and the logic 20, for example, can be structured to completely analyze the output from the CCD 16 or merely pass it on for decoding by other logic connected to line 28.
In use, the bar code reader 10 is pointed at a bar code at its focal point by means not important to the present invention. Then the bar code is in focus, the trigger button 24 is pressed causing the logic 20 to snapshot or freeze the then output data on line 18. That snapshot of data can then be analyzed according to techniques which also form no part of the present invention and, for that reason, will not be addressed in any detail herein. According to one aspect of such bar code readers as being developed by the assignee of this application, the logic 20 analyzes each bar code read to see if it is a data bar code or a reader reprogramming bar code. Thus, there must be uniquely recognizable reprogramming bar codes and the logic 20 must be able to recognize them. By that arrangement, the bar code reader 10 can be reprogrammed to recognize and decode a particular type of bar code from several possibilities by first having it scan a reprogramming bar code associated with the bar code type to be recognized.
In another aspect of such prior art bar code readers, there may be a pattern of actions taken each time that a particular user may wish to avoid as overly time consuming or redundant under particular circumstances. For example, if the hand-held bar code reader 10 is placed in a solid mount at the focal distance from bar codes to be scanned, there is no need for the bar code reader 10 to go through the pre-scanning process of guiding the user to the focal distance. In such cases, it would be desirable for the user to be able to deactivate that feature from the reader 10.
The conception of the present invention began with an appreciation of the limitations of presently available reading devices, including the bar code reader described above, and the desirability of providing reading devices that are more flexible in the types of identifiers they can read and/or their modes of operation.
The subject of the invention is a hand-held, dual-mode asset tracking reader. According to an aspect of the invention, the reader comprises a hollow case sized and shaped to be held in a user""s hand and a reading device disposed within the case in a position for receiving information from an asset. The device has an output outputting a signal representing received information. A primary switch and a secondary switch are both disposed within the case. The primary switch is connected to the reading device and is manually activatable by a user while gripping the case to initiate a reading process. The secondary switch is manually activatable by a user while gripping the case and activating the primary switch. Logic is disposed within the case and connected to the device, the primary switch, and the secondary switch for taking first and second actions. The first action is taken when the primary switch is activated by a user but the secondary switch is not activated. The second action is taken when both the primary switch and the secondary switch are activated by a user. The first action comprises processing the signal from the output of the reading device.
The primary and secondary switches may take various forms. Preferably, the manually activatable primary switch is positioned to be activated by a user""s finger, and the secondary switch is positioned to be activated by a user""s thumb. In the preferred embodiments of the invention, the secondary switch includes a photodiode and is operated by blocking and unblocking a path for light to strike the photodiode.
The reading device may take various forms. In a first group of embodiments, the reading device comprises a bar code scanner. The first action comprises processing the signal as representing information from a one-dimensional bar code. The second action comprises processing the signal as representing information from a two-dimensional bar code. The bar code scanner may also be a two-dimensional scanner having dual modes of operation. For example, the first action may comprise processing the signal in an area read mode, and the second action may comprise processing the signal in a line read mode.
In another group of embodiments, the reading device comprises an RF ID interrogator, and the first and second actions comprise first and second modes of operation, respectively, of the interrogator. For example, the first and second modes of operation may comprise specifying first and second ranges, respectively, of an operating parameter. Operating parameters that may be so specified include tag protocols, ID frequencies, and power levels.
The asset tracking reader may further comprise a second reading device disposed within the case in a position for receiving information from an asset. When a second reading device is included, the second action may comprise operation of the second reading device.
According to another aspect of the invention, the asset tracking reader comprises the hollow case described above and first and second reading devices disposed within the case, each in a position for receiving information from an asset. A primary switch and a secondary switch are each also disposed within the case and are connected to the first device and the second device, respectively. The primary switch is activatable to initiate a reading process. The secondary switch is manually activatable by a user while gripping the case. Logic is disposed within the case and connected to the first and second devices and the primary and secondary switches for taking first and second actions. The first action is taken when the primary switch is activated. The second action is taken when the secondary switch is activated by a user. The first action comprises a reading operation by the first reading device, and the second action comprises a reading operation by the second reading device.
The first and second reading devices may both be of the same type, e.g. both be types of bar code scanners or RF ID interrogators, or may be of different types. As the invention is presently contemplated, each of the first and second devices may be a bar code scanner, an RF ID interrogator, a smart card scanner, or any other tracking device of similar purpose.
According to still another aspect of the invention, the asset tracking device comprises a hollow case, as described above, a reading device disposed within the case in a position for receiving information from an asset, a supplemental switch, and logic. The switch is disposed within the case and is manually activatable by a user. The logic is disposed within the case and is connected to the reading device and the supplemental switch for taking a first action when the supplemental switch is not activated by a user and for taking a second action when the supplemental switch is activated by a user. The first and second actions comprise first and second modes of operation, respectively, of the reading device.
The first and second actions may be of the type described above or of some other type. For example, when the reading device is an RF ID interrogator, the first and second actions may include reading RF ID tags and writing to RF ID tags. As used herein, the term xe2x80x9cwriting toxe2x80x9d is intended to include updating information as well as providing new information on a blank or partially blank tag. Alternatively, the second action may comprise signaling an RF ID tag to provide a location signal perceptible to a human, while the first action is some other mode of operation of the interrogator. Still another alternative is first and second actions that include reviewing and ignoring preamble information.
The present invention has a number of advantages. It ameliorates the problem discussed above of the need to have available a number of different readers. The invention allows the type of reading functions and/or the modes of operation of a particular kind of reader to be combined in one asset a tracking reader to reduce the number of readers that must be on hand at a particular installation. The ability to combine reading capabilities of different types of identifying devices (bar code, RF ID tags, smart cards, etc.) in one reader or to vary the mode of operation of a reader for a particular kind of identifying device greatly increases the versatility and efficiency of the reader. In turn, it can increase the cost effectiveness of asset tracking by reducing the amount of time required for the user of the reader to obtain the needed information. All this is accomplished without increasing the cost of hardware, and potentially even decreasing the cost of hardware, and without sacrificing the ability to obtain identifying information by means of a hand-held reader that may be used in various types of installations and, when necessary, out in the field.
These and other advantages and features will become apparent from the detailed description of the best modes for carrying out the invention that follows.